Stop mechanism for multi-plunger press



5 Sheets--Sheet 1 J. J. TULLY sToP 111301111111911 FOR MULTI-PLUNGER PRESS Aug. 18, 1959l Filed May 12, 1958 Aug. 18, 1959 v J. .1. TULLY 2,900,072

STOPv MECHANISM FOR MULTI-PLUNGER PRESS Filed May 12, 1958 v 5 shee'ts-sneet 2 All@ 1,8, 1959 .1. J. TULLY I 2,900,072

' sToP MEcHANxsM FOR MULTI-PLUNGER PRESS- Filed May 12, 1958 5 sheets-sheet 4 l'. o d);

Kg /aa Y INV ENTOR E., V BY CAQ/U2:

ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1959 J. J. TULLY 2,900,072

STOP MECHANISM FOR MULTI-PLUNGER PRESS Filed May l2, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 rzjagr. J0.

v INVENTOR ./afm/ J. Tuur ATTORNEY /za' BY 2,900,072 sror MECHANISM non MULTI-PLUNGER PRESS Application May 12, 1958, Serial No. 734,657 17 ciaims. (c1. 19a- 232) This invention relates to safety Vstop irieclianisiiis for machinery and more particularly to in'eans for stopping the movement of machines if, because of abnormal conditions, they fail to operate properly.

This application is a continuation-impart of myv application -for Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 665,341, tiled June l2, 1957, now aband'onifor Stop Mechanism for Multi-Plunger Press. l

In machines of the type on which this device is designed to operate, considerable man-hours are needlessly expended by the requirements of having one o'r more attendants constantly watching the operation 'of the machines so that, should a malfunction occur, it may be stopped. n

Also, should such a malfunction of the machines occur, the attendants are often placed in 'danger due tothe fragmentation and projection of pieces of hardened 'steel or the like from tools or material upon which the inachines are working. l d

It is, therefore, anobject of the invention't'o provide a stop device which is readilyl adapted to be' installed on machines which require a rapid automatic stop ymechanism to prevent damage, both to the' machine and to the articles being produced thereon. i

Itis a further object to provide a stop mechanism which is dependable enough to allow the operator or attendant of the machine upon which it is mounted, to remain a substantial `distance away from the machine, thus eliminating the danger of bodily injury` due to flying p'arts resulting from a malfunction, and eliminating the tension involved due to the necessity of remainingfcloseA to the machine and constantly ready to inirr'iediately actuate stopping means.

It is a further object of this invention to produce Aa safety device which, when mounted upon machines requiring automatic stop mechanism, will enable the operation of one or more machines to continue without the necessity of having an operator in constant attendance thereto. Thus, upon the application of 'this' device, a greater number of machines can be operated by one attendant than was normally possible, resulting in consequent economy and safety or operation. i v

It is a further object of this invention to provide a safety device `of the type disclosed, which is easy to manufacture, and readily adapted to be installed upon a diversity of types of machines. s

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a safety stop mechanism for a multiiplunge'r machine which inactivates the machine promptly if the transfer mechanism fails to grasp a workpiece properly for transfer to the next successive station, or if this/grasp is lost in the course of movement from one station to the next one. v

To the accomplishment of these and other objects, my invention consists in the sto`p mechanism having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will 2,900,072 Patented Aug. 18, 1959 ICC hereinafter be describedv and' more particularly pointed out in the claims.

This invention is'an improvement over the U.S. Patent to Burton, No. 17,452,357, dated April 17, 1923. The mechanism shown in the Burton patent would only stop the machineif the transfer nger failed to engage the work atl the first increment of carry of the work, whereas in accordance with the instant invention, the safety mechanismwill stop' the machine if the transfer fingers fail to engage the work initially, or if the work is lost during the transfer period following a proper engagement of the workpiece initially. j

I am also aware o'f U.S. P-atent No. 2,655,240, issued to Boh'aboy et al. on October 13, 1953. This patent has to do with bending work being done and carried in the strip in a power operated single plunger material working machine of an entirely foreign design to my transfer means vfor -a multi-plunger press.

Also, U.S. Patent No. 2,425,438 to ONeal, issued August l2, 1947, is known to applicant. In this patent the detector members are mounted on separate supports which do not move forward with the carry fingers, thus distinguishing from my machine. w

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in the several figures:

Fig. l is a plan view of my improved stop mechanism as applied to a machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof; i

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of' a finger holder mechanism as shown generally in Fig. 1 with the carry bai' in position to move In and Forward with detent free to jmove in against the ratchet in case of a malfunction o'f the machine;

Fig'. 3a is a fragmentary plan view, with some parts in section, of a nger holder mechanism as shown, except that the carry bar is in the Out position, ready for the Return motion with detent held back away from the ratchet to indicate the positioning of the parts in the course of attaining the setting illustrated in Fig. 6;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the portion of my machine shown in Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the left end of the machine fat the conclusion of the Out motion of the carry bar and preparatory to lthe Return motion thereof;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of a transfer mechanism utilizing the safety device in accordance with the invention, illustrating the positioning of the parts during the Forward motion of the mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view corresponding to Fig. 8, illustrating the positioning of parts during the return movement of the mechanism; and

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a different embodiment of the invention from that shown in Figs. 7 to 9, with a different mounting of the detent.

As herein shown, my improved device is attached to the carrier mechanism of a machine in which material to be operated upon is moved by fingers connected with the carrier or transfer mechanism from one station to another, the invention being particularly useful for this type ofrmachine, although kmany other adaptations and uses Will readily suggest themselves to those familiar with the art.

In the drawings, the numerals 10 designate the machine, having a frame F, to which my device is attached andiin which a carrier bar 11 is mounted so as to have a movement thereon, both parallel and transversely to its length. ,l The former is generally referred to as the Forward Motion and Return Motion, and the latter as the In Motion and Out Motion, as clearly designated in Fig. 1. In practice, another carrier bar similar to carrier bar 11 and parallel therewith is used, and opposed companion fingers are attached thereto which correspond to the lfinger 12. These carrier bars 11 and the actuating mechanism (not shown) constitute no part of my present invention.

`The lingers 12 'are connected to the carrier bar 11 by means of holders 13 which are themselves connected to carrier bar 11 by bolts 14. These fingers are biased towards and grasp the article W being transferred or carried by springs S (Fig. 4), which are seated in holders 13 and press against upstanding abutments of fingers 12.

Slidably mounted on carrier bar 11 by means of journal boxes 20 is trip element 21 and separately or integrally connected therewith is a motion entraining means which may assume the form of a rack 22, which `extends substantially the length of trip element 21, and has a plurality of teeth 23 thereon.

Mounted through an aperture 39 in finger 12 is engaging means comprising detent 31 having a tooth or teeth 32 on the inner end thereof, adapted to engage with the rack 22 in a manner which will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

Detent 31 is secured in tinger 12 by means of set screw 33 which serves to maintain the rtransverse adjustment of said detent in said finger. To make actual adjustment of detent 31, set screw 33 is loosened and the adjustment is made by means of screw 34 attached to or butting against detent 31. It is extremely important to maintain precise adjustment of this detent 31 because of the nature of the clearance between it and rack 22. In normal operation this adjustment is made on the order of thousandths of an inch, depending upon the particular type of work being run through the machine.

`Secured to one end of rod 21 and rack 22 is a transverse head 40 (Figs. 1 and 2), which extends transversely of said rod 21 and rack 22, and also has lip 41 thereon which extends downwardly from the rod 21 and rack 2.2 as best seen in Fig. 2. As will be more fully explained hereinafter, this head 41) and the rod 21 and rack 22 remain in the same position longitudinally of the machine during the normal course of operation thereof, experiencing only transverse movements during the In Motion and Out Motion portions of the machine cycle. The transverse head 40 has inner facing surface 12 and outer facing surface 43.

Connected to the frame of machine by means of bracket 50 is micro-switch 51 which is actuated by arm 52, the end of which terminates in roller 53. Mounted under micro-switch 51 and adjacent thereto is bell crank S4 which is pivotally mounted to bracket 511* through pivot member S5. On one edge of bellcrank 54 is mounted a vertical roller 56 and on the other edge thereof an extended side portion 57 is formed which constitutes a flange extending above the surface 58 of the bellcrank. As best seen in Fig. 2, the lower portion of lip 41 of the transverse head 49 is adapted to clear surface 58.

In order to give the bell crank 54 a snap action, there is provided a spring 59 attached at one end to the bracket Si) of the machine, and at the other end to a center point of the extended portion of the bellcrank 57. Thus when bellcrank Sd is actuated in a manner hereinafter to be described, upon movement beyond a certain point, spring 59 will be seen to cause bellcrank 54 to snap into a position with either roller 56 vertically disposed in relal:

tion to the machine or with extended lange member 57 so disposed. When extended ange member 57 is vertically disposed, bellcrank S4 is held against stop pin 58a by action of spring 59 (Fig, 2).

It will be seen that should detent 31 be `caused to engage with one `of the teeth 23 in rack 22, a coupling is effected between the former which is normally movable andthe latter which is normally stationary. Boh rack 22 and trip rod member 21 are slidably journaled, by means of journal boxes 20, to carrier bar 11, but when detent 31 connected to nger 12 moves with the carrier bar 11, and when the detent engages one `of the teeth 23, it effects a movement of the trip rod 21 towards the left, as the carrier bar 11 so moves, causing the transverse head d@ which is connected lthereto to disengage its contact with the roller 53 mounted on arm 52 which is the actuating arm for micro-switch 51. This action causes the microswitch 51 to be actuated to stop the machine.

Associated with carry bar 11 and mounted over the tops of lingers 12 is a slidable cam bar 61 supported in mounting boxes 60 on carry bar 11. On the right hand end of cam bar 61 is a cam head surface 62, and at the other end of cam bar 61 is a rotatable cylindrical surface 63 (Figs. l and 2).

These surfaces 62 and 63, respectively, are adapted to engage sloped abutment cam surfaces 73 and 71 on cam plates 70 and 71', respectively, mounted on the opposite ends of the frame 10 of the machine at the approximate travel limits of the carry bar 11. As shown in Fig. 1, at the conclusion of the In Motion of the carry bar 11, the cam bar 61 has just completed a movemen to the left in consequence of the inward movement of end 62 against the sloping cam surface 70. This movement serves to place the several notches 64 in cam bar 61 in alignment with corresponding upstanding rollers on each of the lingers 12, thus rendering each finger 12 free to move inwardly to grasp the workpiece W at the respective station by the action of the spring S, and in the event of the absence of a workpiece to move inwardly still further until the tooth 32 of detent 31 engages with the teeth 23 on ratchet member 22.

Cam bar 61 moves with carry bar 11 during its entire forward travel as shown in Fig. 3, so that should finger 1'2 lose its grasp on the workpiece during any part of the travel, tooth 32 may engage one of the teeth 23 to actuate the trip element 21 carrying the ratchet member 22 to open the micro-switch 51 to stop the machine.

At the end of the Forward Motion of the carry bar 11, which may be live inches, or any other distance as required by the dimension of the machine and its parts, cam roller 63 at the left end of cam bar 61 reaches sloping shoulder 71 at the left end of the frame, so that when the Out Motion is imparted to the carry bar 11, by means not shown, as indicated in Fig. 6, the cam bar 61 is shifted to the right relatively to the carry bar 11 so that sloping shoulders 64 at the left of each notch 64- may cam out any roller which may extend for any distance in a notch, (Fig. 3a), and provide a positive stop against the inward movement of any of the fingers 12 in the course of the Return Motion of the carry bar 11, when the parts are positioned as shown in Fig. 6.

The operation of the device is as follows:

In the particular machine-shown in Figs. l to 5, carrier bars 11 are actuated by means (not shown) to have a reciprocatory motion in that they move forward and return parallel to their length and move transversely in and out at the end of these reciprocating motions. Work mounted between carry bars 11 is grasped by ngers 12 which are slidablymounted on carrier bars 11 held by means of clamps 13, and are biased toward engagement with said work by springs.

As indicated in Fig. l, the forward direction of feed or carry of the carrier bars is from right to left. Thus, work is picked up by the lingers 12 and carried from a position toward the right to the next position to the left thereof, whereupon the carrier bars 11 move transversely outwardly from the workbeing carried in a direct1on normal to the transfer operation. This Out Motion is followed by a return stroke of the carrier bars 11 whlch again move to a right hand position so that, upon another transverse motion, inwardly or toward the work being carried, the fingers 12 will again grasp the work in preparation to moving it to the next station to the left, thus completing a four .cycle movement.

As mentioned above, trip element 21 and rack 22 are apodera slidably journaled to carrier bar 11 by means of journal boxes 20. However, during normal transfer operation of the carrier bar 11, the trip element 21 and rack 22 will not move longitudinally with the carrier bars 11 but will only move in and out, that is, they will only have a transverse movement toward the Work being carried and away from said work on movement of the carrier bar 11 in ths same direction. Thus, the transverse head 40 formed 011 one end of the trip rod 21 will remain in the same position longitudinally, and will have motion in and out or sideways only to the direction of transfer.

This transverse head member 40 contacts roller 53 of micro-switch 51, keeping the roller 53 and arm member 52 depressed or in an on position, which is aided by the pressure of roller 56 against the inner face of transverse head 4t?. As will clearly be seen from a study of Fig. 2, spring 59 acts clockwise on bellcrank 54 which cooperates with roller 56 to'maintain this contact pressure of transverse head 40 against the switch roller 53.

At any time should there be a misplaced piece of work or a failure of work to appear at one of the stations as the transfer bar 11 makes its inward motion towards the work, there will be nothing to keep the toothk32 on detent 31 from engaging with one of the teeth 23 on rack 22. Should this malfunction occur, the rack 22 and trip element 21 will begin travel with the carrier bar 11 in a longitudinal or forward direction, thus causing the transverse head member 49 to be pulled away from the microswitch operating arm 52 which operates the micro-switch 51 and automatically shuts off the machine through appropriate clutch and brake or other mechanism.

In order to assure the disengagement of the detent teeth 3'2 from the rack teeth 23, during the return stroke of the carrier bar 11, cam bar 61 is provided, which is slidably mounted on carrier bar 11. This cam bar 61 is carried by the carrier bar 11 on both the forward and return motion and also on the in and out motion. On the forward motion of the carrier bar 11, roller 63 engages abutment surface 71 as the carrier bar 11 completes its full forward motion. As the carrier bar 11 moves outwardly, the slanted abutment surface 71 causes roller 63 to follow said surface, thus moving cam bar 61 to the right before the carry bar moves to the right by the machine drive. This causes bevel edges 64 adjacent to depressions 64 in the edge of the cam bar to contact rollers 15, mounted on fingers 12, thus forcing fingers 12 and the detent teeth 32 carried thereon away from p'ossible engagement with teeth 23 in ratchet rack 22. This movement of cam bar 61 causes the cam bar notches 64 to move out of alignment with the rollers 1S, thus camming the ngers 12 and detent teeth 32 out of engagement with teeth 23 on the return stroke of carry bar 11 as shown in Figs. 3a and 6.

Uponmovement of carrier bar 11 to theright, in preparation for the preliminary grasping action, the cam head surface 62 on the right end of cam bar 61 engages with slanted abutment surface 70. Upon movement of carrier bar 11 inwardly toward grasping relation with the work to be carried, the action of cam head surface 62 and abutment surface 79 forces the cam bar 61 toward the left moving the notches or depressions 64 in cam bar 61 into alignment with rollers 15, mounted on fingers 12 (Figs. l, 3 and 5). Thus, the lingers 12 are free to move in against a properly aligned workpiece or in case of a missing workpiece, the detent 31 mounted in linger 12 will engage the teeth 23 in rack 22 and upon movement of the carrier bar 11 forward, the machine will stop aspreviously described.

Further, if at any time during the carry or forward movement of the carry bar, the workpiece is dropped between station, the finger 12 holding that workpiece would be free, and the detent 31 would engage with the teeth 23 in rack 22, thus stopping the machine at any time during the carry motion.

This is a substantial improvement over prior known safety devices, such as that disclosed in the Burton patent mentioned above, No. 1,452,357, wherein automatic stop means was provided only at the start or during a very small portion of the forward travel of the carry or transfer mechanism.

Referring now to the embodiments shown in Figs. 7 to l0, it will be seen that I have provided an automatic stop mechanism which is substantially the same in operation as has been described above, but with the exception that the racks and trip elements are mounted on the back carrier bar of a pair of carrier bars which have a Forward and Return motion only.

Figs. 7 to 9 illustrate a machine having pivoted transfer members of 'the type shown in the above-mentioned patent to ONeal, No. 2,425,438, or the United States patents to Hoffman et al., No. 2,383,313 or'Kuehl, No. 2,373,582. These pivoted transfer members 82 and 82 (Fig. 7), are adapted to embrace a workpiece W for transfer to the next successive station by forward movement of the carry bars 81 and 81', as shown in Fig. 7. While only one pair of these transfer fingers are shown 'in Fig. 7, a plurality of such are pivotally mounted in longitudinally displaced bores S3 and S3 of the carry bars 81 and 81', respectively, and, in the interest o-f simplicity, the mounting of only one will be described since these are duplicated in dependence upon the number of stations in the machine, as is well known in the art. Furthermore, the control mechanism for only one set of the transfer'members is illustrated, the companion set being similar, being ,designated by corresponding reference characters which are primed, and which are similarly controlled.

A pivoted bolt 84 is adapted to retain its respective transfer arm within the carry bar, the forward portion of which is urged into grasping relation with the workpiece by means of coil spring 86 acting between shallow seats in the edges of the transfer arm and ycarry bar. The rearward portion of the transfer ba'r 85 cooperates with a cylindrical pin 90 mounted on the rearward face of a pawl 91 which is pivoted at 94 to the rear wall of the carry bar 81 and which is provided with a detent tooth 87 at the free end thereof.

A control rod 92 is slidably mounted in the machine frame and is provided at its forward edge with a plurality of teeth 93 in a manner similar to the trip element 21 and rack bar 22, as described above in connection with the preceding embodiment. The slidable bar 92 is associated with a micro-switch to disable the drive of the machine if the bar 92 should be moved to the left inconjunction with the movement of the carry bar 31 in the same direction (Fig. 7).

A light coil spring 8S, seated between the rear channel of the carry bar 81 and the rear end of the pawl 91 serves to maintain the detent tooth 87 clear of the teeth 93 of the trip rod 92 during the normal functioning of the machine. However, upon a malfunctioning thereof, should the transfer iinger 82 fail to grab a workpiece W properly, or should the grasping by this linger be lost, the movement of transfer finger 82, enforced thereon by coil spring 86, serves to rock the pawl 91 about its pivot pin 94 to engage detent 87 against one of the teeth 93, overcoming the force of spiral spring 88, so that trip bar 92 is actuated to open the circuit of the machine drive to effect a prompt stoppage thereof.

The clearance between the detent 87 and the ratchet teeth 93 is small, so that the safety stop mechanism is actuated promptly. In order to increase this clearance upon the return motion of the carry bar, the trip rod 92 and the teeth 93 on the exposed edge thereof are adapted to be shifted from proximity with the detent pawls, by

means of special mechanism extending longitudinally ofl the machine frame which is operative in timed sequence with the forward and return motions of the carry bar 81. The comparative positionings of the parts during the forward and return motion of the carry bar are illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, Fig. 9 showing clearly the larger spacing between the teeth 93 and the pawls 37.

As shown in Figs. 7 to 9, the trip rod 92 is seated for sliding movement at the ends of a plurality of cylindrical plungers 95 which are slidable within bushings 110 mounted on the top of the machine frame at a plurality of longitudinally displaced points therealong. Bearing blocks 99 extend from 'the rear of the machine frame at these points for the purpose of mounting a rock shaft 98 onto which are mounted iangularly disposed levers 97 and 193. The free end of each lever 97 engages a recess 96 in the rear end of its corresponding plunger 95. A roller im is mounted on the free end of each lever 103 and is maintained in engagement with a cam 101 which is mounted upon a cam shaft i? also extending longitudinally of the machine in parallel to the rock shaft 98. A spring 194, connected between a pin 196 on the lever 103 and a part of the machine frame, serves to maintain the roller 102 in close engagement with the respective cam 100. Each cam is provided with a quadrant of maximum diameter and a diagonally opposite quadrant of minimum diameter with transition quadrants therebetween, so that the former effects a rocking of the rock shaft 98 in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 8, during the forward motion of the carry bar $1 to bring the trip rod 92 and the teeth 93 into the field of operation of the detent pawls S7 during the forward motion of the machine. Shaft 98 is rocked outwardly, `as shown in Fig. 9, during the return motion of the carry bar 81 when no cooperative action is desired between the teeth 93 Vand the detent pawls 87 during the portion of the cycle when a control function by the transfer fingers is not desired.

It is understood that while a plurality of control cams 1th@ and actuating plungers 95 may be provided to insure reliability of operation, these need not correspond to the number of working stations on the machine since it is only necessary that the trip rod 92 with teeth 93 be positioned as a unit for cooperative action with any of the dent pawls at the several stations. In fact, a single control cam 1% will suiiice, while at least two actuating plungers should be provided to obtain a balanced movement.

In Fig. l0 is illustrated a variation of the mechanism shown in Figs. 7 to 9, particularly in respect to the mounting of the transfer fingers and the detent pawl associated therewith. in this embodiment, the transfer ngers i2@ are pivotally mounted on the carry bar 121 by pivot pins 122 and are urged into engagement with the workpiece by coil springs 123. The detent pawl 124 is iixedly mounted to the rearward end of the transfer ringer llti for eventual engagement with the trip rod 131 provided with ratchet teeth 132 at the exposed face thereof. The trip rod 131 is channeled for transverse engagei ment with Ithe free ends of the shifting plungers 128, while permitting free longitudinal movement with respect thereto. The shifting plungers 128 are controlled by rock shaft 137, which is mounted in bearing abutments 136 of frame 13S in a manner similar to the mounting of these parts in the embodiment shown in Figs. 7 to 9. The plungers 128 execute `a suicient throw to withdraw the trip rod 131 with teeth 132 from close proximity with the actuating pawls 134 during the return motion of the carry bar 12E, while during the forward motion of the latter, the teeth 132 of the trip rod are in sufiiciently close proximity to the pawls 124 to enable the latter to entrain ythe trip rod upon the occurrence of a malfunction in the grasping and transfer of the workpieces W from one station to the next successive station.

The companion transfer member 12d', cooperating with carry bar 1 1', is urged into operative position by spring 123 andis controlled in the `same manner as described above.

While i have described my invention as embodied in a specific form and as operating in a specihc manner for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that I do not Ylimit my invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexedclairns.

I claim:

l. In la carrier mechanism for transferring `articles from one station to another, la reciprocating member, a control rod extending along said member for controlling the source of power by which said reciprocating member is actuated, motion entraining means disposed on said control rod -along substantially Vthe entire length thereof between `said stations, `a carrier finger movably mounted on said reciprocating member, and a projection movable by said carrier linger and selectively free from said motion entraining means on said rod when an article is properly engaged by said carrier finger and engageable with said last-mentioned means when the article is not properly engaged by said carrier finger to actuate said control rod by the movement of said member and thereby to disconnect said source of power.

2. In a carrier mechanism for transferring articles from one station to another, a reciprocating member, a control v rod movable relative thereto for controlling the source of power byv which said reciprocating member is actuated, `a plurality of teeth on an exposed edge of said control rod along substantially the entire length thereof between said stations, a carrier finger movably mounted on said reciprocating member, and `a detent associated with said carrier finger and selectively free from said teeth on said rod when an article is properly engaged by said carrier finger and engageable with one of said teeth when the article is not properly engaged by said carrier finger to actuate said control rod by the movement of said member and thereby to disconnect said source of power.

3. In a carrier mechanism for transferring articles from one station to another, a reciprocating member, a control rod movable relative thereto at least in the direction of reciprocation for controlling the source of power by which said reciprocating member is actuated, motion entraining means disposed on said control rod along substantially the entire length thereof between said stations, a carrier finger movably mounted on said reciprocating member, a projection controlled by said carrier finger and selectively free from said motion entraining means on said rod when an article is properly engaged by said carrier finger and engageable with said last-mentioned means when the article is not properly engaged by said carrier finger to actuate said control rod by the movement of said member and thereby to disconnect said source of power, said projection being in close proximity to said motion entraining means during the forward motion of said reciprocating member, and means for increasing the spacing between said projection and motion entraining means during the return motion of said member.

4. In a carrier mechanism for transferring articles from one station to another of a multiple plunger machine, a reciprocating member supporting a plurality of movable carrier ngers thereon, a control rod normally stationary in a longitudinal direction adjacent to said member, an electrical switch at the end of said control rod for controlling the source of power to said machine, a plurality of engaging teeth disposed on said control rod along substantially the entire length thereof between said stations, and a detent controlled by each carrier finger and selectively free from said motion entraining means on said rod when an article is properly engaged by said carrier finger and engageable with said last-mentioned means when the article is not properly engaged by said carrier finger to actuate said control rod by the movement of said member and thereby to actuate said electrical switch.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including adjusting means for said detent for critically controlling the transverse spacing thereof relative to the engaging teeth on said control rod.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including means forrelatively shifting said control rod and carrier finger detents in a transverse direction to bring them into close proximity during the forward transfer movement of said reciprocating member and to increase the spacing therebetween during the return movement of said member.

7. An yapparatus as set forth in claim 4, including a cam bar mounted on said reciprocating member having a recess adjacent to each carrier finger, said recess adapted to permit movement of said detent into engagement with one of the teeth on said control rod on improper engagement of the carrier finger with the article, and means for shifting said cam bar at the end of the forward travel of said reciprocating member to displace said recesses relative to said carrier fingers, thereby to block any transverse movement of said detents during the return motion of said reciprocating member.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7, including additional means for shifting said cam bar at the end of the return motion of said reciprocating member to align said recesses relative to said carrier fingers to permit transverse movement of said detents` during the forward motion of said reciprocating member.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including a projection at the end of said control rod, and spring means for forcing said projection against said electrical switch.

10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including means for relatively shifting said control rod and carrier finger detents in a transverse direction to bring them into close proximityduring the forward transfer movement of said reciprocating member and to increase the spacing therebetween during the return movement of said member, a projection at the end of said control rod, spring means for forcing said projection against said electrical switch, said projection being engageable with said electrical switch during transverse movements of said control rod together with said reciprocating member, and said spring means being inactivated only by a longitudinal movement of said control rod in the reverse direction.

11. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including a cam bar mounted on said reciprocating member having a recess terminating in a camming edge adjacent each carrier finger, an abutment at the rear end of said carrier finger in alignment with said recess, said recess adapted to permit movement of said detent into engagement with one of the teeth on said control rod on improper engagement of the carrier finger with the article, a sloping shoulder on the machine frame cooperating with one end of said cam bar for shifting said cam bar at the end of the forward travel of said reciprocating member and in the course of an outward transverse movement thereof to cam out said abutment by said camming edge and to displace said recess relative to said carrier, finger, thereby to block any transverse movement of said detent during the return motion of said reciprocating member.

12. An apparatus as set forth in claim l1, including a sloping shoulder on the opposite end of the machine frame cooperating with vthe opposite end of said cam bar for shifting said cam bar at the end of the return motion of said reciprocating member to align said recesses relative to said carrier fingers to permit transverse movement of said detents during the forward motion of said 'reciprocating member.

13. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including a pluralityof transversely movable cylinders slidably supporting said control rod at one of the ends thereof, a rocking mechanism connected to the opposite ends thereof, and a cam drive for actuating said rocking mechanism to bring the control rod and engaging teeth in proximity to the detents of the carrier fingers during the forward transferring motion of said reciprocating member and to withdraw said engaging teeth from the detents during the return motion of said member.

14. An apparatus as set forth in claim 13 wherein said carrier fingers are pivotally mounted on said reciprocating member with each detent formed as an integral part of each carrier `linger at the end thereof opposite the article engaging end.

15. An apparatus as set forth in claim 13 wherein said carrier lingers are pivotally mounted on said reciprocating member, a pawl pivoted to said member adjacent to each carrier finger, an actuating -pin on each pawl controlled by the free end of each carrier finger, and said detent -being disposed on the free end of said pawl.

16. An apparatus as set forth i-n claim 4, including means for shifting said carrier finger detents from said control rod in a ltransverse direction to inactivate said detents during the return movement of said reciprocating member. n

17. In a device of the character described the combination with a movably mounted carrier member of a trip rod element slidably journaled thereon for controlling the source of power which operates said carrier member, a transverse head mounted at one extreme of said trip rod element, a cam :bar slidably mounted on said carrier member and having a cam head surface at one end thereof and a cylindrical surface rotatably mounted on the other `end thereof, a micro-switch mounted on the frame of said device having an actuator roller normally in contact with ythe outer facing surface of the transverse head of said trip element, a bellcrank lever pivotally mounted on said frame having a vertical roller mounted thereon, said vertical roller normally positioned against the inner facing surface of the transverse head of said trip element, a spring connected to said frame and to said -bellcrank at a central position thereon so as to provide a snap action upon movement of said bell- ,crank beyond a predetermined point, said bellcranlt having an extended side portion constituting a flange on the leg-opposite the leg upon which said vertical roller is mounted, said carrier member having lingers movably journaled thereon with nger idlers vertically mounted on said fingers adapted upon malfunction to engage within notches on said cam bar, said trip element having a rack ywith teeth extending along substantially the entire length thereof, a detent tooth secured in said finger holder and adapted upon malfunction to engage a tooth on said rack, slanted abutment surfaces mounted on the frame of said device which contact the cam head -surface and the rotatable cylindrical surface of said cam bar respectively as the carrier bar carries the cam bar back and forth in the operation of said device.

No references cited. 

